Latvian national carrier airBaltic is the largest airline at its main base at Riga International Airport and at its secondary hub in Vilnius, while it is steadily increasing capacity from its Tallinn base.
Ryanair is making its first foray into Greece with six new seasonal summer routes. The Greek Government is, meanwhile, struggling to contain its €30 billion budget deficit. So why is the time ripe for the Irish LCC to move into the Mediterranean country? Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara speaks to Routes News.
Ghana’s capital Accra gained two new international services this week from Virgin Atlantic and United Airlines. Virgin’s thrice-weekly service will be competing on the route with British Airways’ daily flights. Routes News takes a look at the West Africa market and in particular Virgin’s role there.
Airline alliance activity is at an all-time high, with barely a week passing with out an announcement of a carrier joining, exiting or switching alliances. A man at the centre of much of this alliance activity is Star Alliance’s vice president for business development, Horst Findeisen. He shared his thoughts on what alliance membership offers airlines and what carrier bankruptcy means for the alliance with Routes News.
Originally based in Sharjah in the UAE, Air Arabia established itself in Morocco last year through its Air Arabia Maroc start-up and it is trying to repeat this in Egypt during 2010. In April it will launch Air Arabia Egypt, a joint venture with Travco, the major Middle Eastern tourism and hospitality group. Routes News examines the evolution of Air Arabia and what it hopes to achieve in the Egypt market.
Kingfisher Airlines announced new routes from Delhi to London Heathrow and Hong Kong in the past week, along with plans to join oneworld in the second half of this year. Routes News examines its significance.
Jet Airways is currently India's second-largest international airline and the largest operator in the domestic market. It operates over 400 daily flights to 64 destinations. The carrier has grown its domestic and international traffic for four consecutive months and has recently been recognised in a string of awards, including “Best Long Haul Carrier” at the TM Travel Awards in Brussels last year.
Last month’s opening of Gold Coast Airport’s second passenger terminal coincided with double-digit month-on-month growth of international passenger traffic (in January). The new facility is designed primarily to meet the needs of low-fare carriers and the airport seeks to expand its long-haul network, working in partnership with the Queensland Government and Gold Coast Tourism to deliver new route incentives.
Operating from 36 UK airports, Flybe is the largest UK domestic operator (measured by weekly seat capacity and number of destinations). Announcing the first scheduled services for Kent International and Humberside to Edinburgh and Belfast City respectively, Flybe plays to its many strengths: operating high-frequency services to thin or new markets using suitably sized aircraft. Routes News examines this rise and asks if it can maintain it position amid competition from easyJet.
Vietnam is the latest Asian country to get an AirAsia subsidiary. Routes News examines what the establishment of Vietjet AirAsia means for the country and the carriers already operating there.
Michael Bell, partner and consultant at Spencer Stuart moderated this year's Routes Americas Strategy Forum. Here he offers a round up of the top talking points that took place in a packed room of airport and airline decision-makers.
Best known as a gateway for Disney tourists, Orlando International (MCO) is less well-known for its central role in feeding traffic to a diverse local economy, where key industries include major corporations, technology, aerospace and healthcare sectors and the USA’s second largest convention centre.
Norwegian Air Shuttle recently announced its first service into the Finnish market with scheduled services from Oslo and Stockholm (two of its three primary bases) to Helsinki. Routes News asks whether this just the start of a major expansion into the Finnish market?
Flydubai’s fleet of six Boeing 737-800s along with its low fares are helping the Dubai-based carrier to serve the shorter sectors and thinner markets that Emirates will avoid. Recent new destinations include Aleppo in Syria; Djibouti in the Horn of Africa and the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Only three airports out of all the UK’s airports with more than 150,000 yearly passengers actually experienced traffic growth in 2009, according to the latest UK CAA passenger statistics.
By April, debt-ridden Air Jamaica will turn away from six key markets between the Caribbean and US, and lose three A320s –the latest restructuring since the Jamaican government put the carrier’s ‘for sale’ sign up in 2008. Routes News reports on its misfortunes and assesses the impact of the route cuts on its main Caribbean base in Kingston.
As a key leisure destination in Mexico, Cancun Airport continues to expand its infrastructure and network, having opened a second runway and a new control tower in October. The airport is actively targeting airlines to feed further growth, as well as add capacity on existing services.
Monarch Airlines is also a newcomer to Routes event and is attending Routes Americas in Lima this week. Among its wish list of new long-haul charter and scheduled destinations, Monarch is sizing up the Canadian market and more Caribbean routes with a view to securing new services for its summer 2010 schedule.
Turkish Airlines is increasing its fleet and is targeting the huge Europe to Asia traffic flows. TK is now larger in terms of weekly frequency than the Middle East carriers with a clear focus on its Atatürk hub. Routes News assesses its strategy to establish a leading hub, neatly aligned to its fast-evolving fleet mix.
It’s an unusual move, but the niche Swedish carrier, City Airline - which operates a small domestic and European network mainly for the business market - has formed a strategic partnership with Göteborg Landvetter (GOT) (its operational base) to help establish the airport as a key hub. Routes News evaluates the opportunity for Gothenburg as a future hub airport.
Limited competition in Serbia for low-cost traffic has prompted Wizz Air to test its market potential. It will serve scheduled flights to Belgrade from 24th July.
It’s a time of exciting change for Jetstar, which this week announced it would expand its Asian hub at Singapore Changi. This comes just a few weeks after it signed a partnership agreement with AirAsia earlier in the year.
Fresh from announcing its fiscal Q3 losses this week, Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary announced that the airline is vying to grow its market share where it competes with BA, Air France-KLM group and Lufthansa. Routes News offers a snapshot of Ryanair’s market position in these key country markets.
Japan’s national carrier may be flying on empty reserves, but its newly appointed chairman-in-office, Kazuo Inamori, has announced that JAL will soon be making that all-important decision: whether it will align its large network with Delta’s SkyTeam or with American Airlines and its oneworld partners. Routes News examines in which areas the respective alliances stand to gain from JAL’s high yielding domestic, as well as its US–Japan and Japan–Far East routings.
